Dhaka, Jan. 26 -- The air in Dhaka's Mohammadpur is thick with both anticipation and anxiety.

In the afternoon of last November, a young man wielding a machete stormed into the Muslim Sweets factory owned by Md Selimuzzaman, ransacking the premises and fleeing with mobile phones and cash. The incident, though now months behind, remains etched in memory.

Standing beside his factory in the neighbouring Shekhertek, the veteran businessman reflected on his hopes for the February elections: "Whoever comes, first restore law and order here. We don't want much, just to run our businesses in peace. We want to walk around without fear."

A resident of Shekhertek, Selimuzzaman paints a grim picture: gas shortages, waterlogging, and unrelenting st...